


Steady

by dragonwings948



Series: TARDIS Fam [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s12e01 Spyfall Part 1, Friendship, Missing Scene, Spoilers, Spoilers for Episode: s12e01-02 Spyfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: Yaz and Ryan struggle to come to grips with their fear after the events in Barton's office.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan & Ryan Sinclair
Series: TARDIS Fam [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1155803
Kudos: 33





	Steady

**Author's Note:**

> GUYS I'm still not over Spyfall. 
> 
> Interestingly enough, this was the very first idea I had for a fic while watching the episode. I *needed* that comforting hug that the Doctor was inevitably going to to give Yaz once she appeared in place of the Kasaavin. 
> 
> As terrible as it sounds, one of the number one things I missed from S11 was companions being terrified and in mortal danger...and then Spyfall happened and I was definitely satisfied XD Because then I get to write adorable scenes like this!

_Breathe._

_One, two, three, four…_

Yaz tried to steady herself, to make sense of the world around her. She counted in her head slowly to calm her rapid breaths. 

_Five, six, seven, eight…_

It seemed impossible, but there she was, staring at her through the glass: the Doctor. _The Doctor._ She had to be safe now. 

_Nine, ten, eleven, twelve…_

She placed her palms against the glass and met the Doctor’s eyes. Words wouldn’t come. 

_Thirteen._

The whirring of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver was like a wake-up call to Yaz’s mind. The cage lifted around her and she found herself in the middle of a dim, cluttered house. But Yaz couldn’t quite process any more details, because she couldn’t take her eyes off the Doctor. Questions filled her mind. Terror still had her frozen. 

“Doctor,” was all she could say, her overwhelming gratitude and confusion voiced into one word. She fell into her friend’s awaiting arms and squeezed her tightly. In the back of her mind she wondered if this was some sort of illusion, if she was still in that terrible place and this was just her mind trying to cope--but the Doctor’s hold on her and her familiar scent of something like ancient dust and grease and time all wrapped into one was enough to make Yaz believe for the moment. 

“You’re okay,” the Doctor said gently. “You’re all right, Yaz.” 

It was only then that Yaz realised she was shaking, that tears were running down her cheeks. She met Graham’s eyes over the Doctor’s shoulder. His mouth was open in shock.

“Yaz, love, what happened?” 

Yaz pulled herself from the Doctor’s embrace and quickly wiped her sleeve over her eyes. “I--I don’t know,” she said, unable to keep her voice from trembling.

The Doctor pulled out a nearby chair, scraping it along the wood floor. Yaz gratefully sat down, glad to give her shaking legs a rest. 

“O, can you make some tea?” 

Yaz followed the Doctor’s gaze and watched an unfamiliar man--presumably O--blink a couple times in surprise, then jump to his feet. “Yes, of course.” 

While he busied himself with the tea, the Doctor sat down across from Yaz. Graham put a comforting hand on Yaz’s shoulder. Yaz took a deep breath as peace began to steady her heart. 

Pity shone in the Doctor’s eyes, but there was an eager glow in her expression too. “I’m sorry, Yaz. I know you’ve been through a lot, but I need you to tell me what happened.” 

* * *

Ryan almost cried with relief at the sound of the TARDIS engines. As soon as the police box materialised he pushed the door open and rushed inside, coming face to face with the Doctor.

He immediately grabbed onto her arms. “Is Yaz okay?” He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he waited for the reply. 

The Doctor’s eyes were calm, soft. Ryan found himself starting to relax even before she said, “She’s fine.” 

He sighed with relief and suddenly became aware that every inch of his body was trembling with fear. He leaned back against the wall of the console room as the Doctor closed the door. 

“I thought she was gone,” he muttered. “I really thought--” But the words got caught in his throat. His anxiety had been building up all day, and now it was finally catching up with him. He could hardly put his thoughts in order, and as his mind went back it seemed as if the whole day had gone by in a matter of a few minutes. 

The Doctor grabbed his shoulders, bringing his attention to the present. “Deep breaths, Ryan,” she said, looking steadily into his eyes. “Everyone’s okay. We need to take what you and Yaz have learned and use it to figure out what’s going on.” She released him and started towards the console. Breathing another steadying sigh, Ryan followed. 

“Did you and Graham find anything?” 

“Sort of. We met those alien creatures again, and I managed to get a few words out of one.” 

Ryan barked a sarcastic laugh. “Better than we did.” 

The TARDIS engines started up and the Doctor shook her head as she rounded the console. “You and Yaz were amazing. With the information you two found, we might just be able to piece this together.” 

It was only a moment later that the TARDIS landed. The Doctor rushed out the doors, and Ryan trailed behind with measured steps. He emerged into what looked like a hoarder’s shack, but before he could ask where they were Graham rushed over, grinning. 

“Ryan!” He put an arm around his shoulders and hugged him from the side. “Good to see you, son.”

“Yeah, you too.” He glanced around the room. “Where’s Yaz?” 

“She’s outside. She hardly said a word all night.” He glanced at the Doctor, who was already running around the house gathering materials. “Probably could have used you, Doc.”

The Doctor paused and threw her arms out in innocence. “It’s not my fault the TARDIS got the time a bit wrong! We’re just a few hours later than we should be.” 

Ryan noted sunlight creeping in through the closed shutters and figured it must be morning. “I’ll go talk to Yaz.” 

He had a feeling that right now, in the midst of this uncertainty and craziness, they needed each other more than ever.


End file.
